When should I hand in notice before changing jobs after maternity leave?

[Radiatorrays]

I am due to go back to work after mat leave mid-July. I have secured a new job and they offered me to start mid-August, which is a month gap in between. Obviously I don’t mind starting mid-August but I am not sure when to hand in my notice to make sure I have minimal/no disruption in my NI contributions? I am so bad with tax and pension/salary 🫣

How long is your notice period?

@ToKittyornottoKitty oops, forgot to include that crucial point! So it seems I don't have a notice period? There is nothing stipulated in my contract and policy/handbook but out of courtesy, I'm happy to give a month notice?

Do you have any annual leave to use up? As it accumulates when on maternity leave, this could shorten that gap a bit

Have you been on enhanced mat leave? There may be a clause in your contract requiring you to return to work for a set period to avoid having to repay the enhanced part.

@ToKittyornottoKitty yes I have some annual leave from this year left to take. I suppose that could get me to end of July-ish, then I don't think that gap would impact my pension right?

@devildeepbluesea no I don't have to repay. It's not a clause in the policy

I would leave giving notice as late as possible. If you are 100% sure you have no notice period then you only need to give one weeks notice.

Double check about notice and separately ask HR to work out your annual leave entitlement to your return date. Once you have that info work out if you take all your leave what your last day would be.

WRT NI don’t worry about the small gap. If, for the 26/27 tax year, you are short in January 2028 you can check your NI for 26/27 and if it’s not a qualifying year you will be told how much you need to pay to make it a qualifying year. Also if you are receiving Child Benefit you should get NI credits.